American Idol (season 7)
The seventh season of American Idol premiered on January 13, 2021. The season was hosted by Ryan Seacrest. On the May 20 finale, Allison Preston was announced as the seventh American Idol over fellow finalist Emily Caldwell. Regional Auditions Auditions were held in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Dallas, and Chicago. Hollywood week The Hollywood rounds of the audition process were held over four days in November 2020 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The first round consisted of each contestant singing one song a capella of their own choosing in front of the judges and all the other contestants. Contestants were then told whether they were moving on or going home, in groups of six. This extended over the first two days. The second round took place on the second and third day, and consisted of groups of three or four contestants choosing, rehearsing, and then performing one of nine pre-selected songs. Groups were reviewed and contestants were then judged individually as to whether they were moving on or going home. The third round took place on the fourth day, and consisted of individual contestants performing a song from a pre-selected list, accompanied by a piano and backup singers. Contestants were again informed of whether they had made the cut or not. Green mile The final pre-audience voting cut down took place at the Pasadena Civic Center on January 12 or 13, 2021, just before the regional audition shows began airing. Without any further auditioning, but possibly with some audience research having taken place, the 40 remaining contestants were reduced to 24. In a process taking a whole day, contestants wait in a sitting room until one by one, they go up an elevator and take a long walk to the other end of the Center's Gold Room. Then the three judges told them whether they have made it onto the stage show or are cut. The 24 semi-finalists were announced February 11, 2021. Semi-finals The semi-finals began on February 16, 2021. There were three shows each week for the three weeks of the semi-finals. The semi-finals featured the contestants (24 total) divided by gender with the 12 male singers singing on Tuesdays and the 12 female singers on Wednesdays. Each person had the chance to select a song to sing live in front of the judges. Following the show's airing, each U.S. timezone would have two hours to vote by phone or by text-messaging. On Thursday, the two of each group with the fewest votes were eliminated each week until the finals. For the first time, the six American Idols, Kane, Natalie, Olivia, River, Brooke, and Jayvon all returned to mentor the contestants. In the first week, Natalie mentored the girls, and River mentored the guys. Semi-finalists Females *'Carmella Rozelle', 25 years old, auditioned in New York, and currently resides in Saginaw, MI. *'Gianna Wilkerson', 16 years old, auditioned in New York, and currently resides in New York, NY. *'Audra Hay', 23 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Mira Loma, CA. Hay originally auditioned for season 5, but was cut in the Hollywood rounds. *'Jennifer Wilson', 26 years old, auditioned in Philadelphia, and currently resides in Madison, OH. Wilson originally auditioned for season 5, but was cut in the Hollywood rounds. *'Amelia Radosevich', 25 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Fair Oaks, CA. *'LaKisha Thornton', 29 years old, auditioned in Minneapolis, and currently resides in Riverton, IL. Males *'Bruno Zobel', 22 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Stockton, CA. *'Thomas Hammond', 18 years old, auditioned in Chicago, and currently resides in Oak Brook, IL. *'Justus Brown', 20 years old, auditioned in Chicago, and currently resides in Menasha, WI. *'Lazaro Rebelo', 19 years old, auditioned in Minneapolis, and currently resides in Eagan, MN. *'AJ Balas', 24 years old, auditioned in New York, and currently resides in Chicago, IL. *'Jacob Farver', 20 years old, auditioned in New York, and currently resides in Pittsburgh, PA. 'Top 24' Theme: 1960s Females Mentor: Natalie McConnell Males Mentor: River Benjamin 'Top 20' Theme: 1990s Females Mentor: Brooke McGrath Males Mentor: Kane Reilly 'Top 16' Theme: Lady Gaga vs John Legend Females Mentor: Olivia Guerrero Males Mentor: Jayvon Serrano Finals Finalists The 12 finalists were announced on March 4, 2021. As in past years, the top 12 will appear on the annual compilation album while the top 10 will be the participants in the American Idol summer concert tour. Also as in past years, one finalist was eliminated every week until the final two, where one will be declared the winner. The following is first in reverse chronological order by elimination date, then in alphabetical order by family name, where applicable. *'Allison Preston', 23 years old, auditioned in Nashville, and currently resides in Dunwoody, GA. On May 20, 2021, Preston was announced as the seventh American Idol over fellow finalist Emily Caldwell. *'Emily Caldwell', 21 years old, auditioned in Minneapolis, and currently resides in Savannah, GA. On May 20, 2021, Caldwell was announced as the runner-up to Allison Preston. *'Kris Oakes', 28 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Eagle, ID. On May 13, 2021, Oakes was eliminated from American Idol, placing third. *'Dianna Lambert', 20 years old, auditioned in New York, and currently resides in Homestead, PA. On May 6, 2021, Lambert was eliminated from American Idol, placing fourth. *'Britney McCartney', 27 years old, auditioned in Philadelphia, and currently resides in Johnson City, NC. On April 29, 2021, McCartney was eliminated from American Idol, placing fifth. *'Julian Serrato', 24 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Fresno, CA. Serrato originally auditioned for season 5, but was cut in the Hollywood rounds. On April 22, 2021, Serrato was eliminated from American Idol, placing sixth. *'Amanda Rodriguez', 24 years old, auditioned in Philadelphia, and currently resides in Richmond, VA. On April 15, 2021, Rodriguez was eliminated from American Idol, placing seventh. *'Bryanna Reynolds', 16 years old, auditioned in Minneapolis, and currently resides in East Conrad, MT. On April 8, 2021, Reynolds was eliminated from American Idol, placing eighth. *'Shane McKnight', 26 years old, auditioned in Minneapolis, and currently resides in Madison, WI. On April 1, 2021, McKnight was eliminated from American Idol, placing ninth. *'Ryan Yang', 17 years old, auditioned in Nashville, and currently resides in Plantation, FL. On March 25, 2021, Yang was eliminated from American Idol, placing tenth. *'David Alton', 28 years old, auditioned in New York, and currently resides in Woodstock, NY. On March 18, 2021, Alton was eliminated from American Idol, placing eleventh. *'Travis Velez', 22 years old, auditioned in Philadelphia, and currently resides in White Plains, CT. On March 11, 2021, Velez was eliminated from American Idol, placing twelfth. Top 12 – Stevie Wonder Mentor: Stevie Wonder Top 11 – Max Martin Mentor: Max Martin Top 10 – Madonna Mentor: Madonna Top 9 – Year They Were Born Top 8 – Country Mentor: Blake Shelton Top 7 – Love Songs Mentor: Celine Dion This week, the Top 7 had to choose a random song out of a hat. Top 6 – Rock 'n Roll Top 5 – Disco / Big Band Classics Top 4 – Mariah Carey / Lionel Richie Top 3 – Judges' choice / Producer's choice / Contestant's choice Top 2 – Contestant's choice / Previous song / Winner's single Elimination chart Note: Bottom 2 indicates that the contestant was 'saved' last. This may or may not indicate his or her actual vote rank. Sometimes, Seacrest will announce that the contestant is in the bottom 2, sometimes he will not.